36 Week Bumpdate: the 9th month

36 weeks! Some days I feel tiny and some days I feel huge :)

Total Weight Gain: 25 lbs

Symptoms:  So emotional. The things I tear up over make even me laugh (aka ABBA's Dancing Queen coming on the radio. Not. Even. Kidding). Also starting to really notice my body's practice contractions. It's pretty amazing to watch it prepare. 

Size of the baby:  Healthy and ready to meet the world whenever she so chooses!

Sleep:  Taking some herbs and that has really, really helped. 

Best Moment Last Week: Wrote my birth plan. Finished my nursery (pictures below). Washed the littlest clothes and blankets. Boom, boom and boom!

Movement: Hiccups. This week Evelyn has had hiccups a couple times. I used to hear that and not think it sounded that remarkable, but, guys, it is SO precious!! 

Cravings:  I had my first intense one. I woke up from a nap last weekend NEEDING a pancake with peanut butter and strawberry jam on it. Not even sure my eyes were open yet before I stumbled into the kitchen and started making my little buckwheat pancake. :)

What I Miss: Being able to keep my due date clear in my head. Somehow over the last couple weeks it has turned into a "due season" and therefore I answer with things like "Well, anytime between now and Thanksgiving." Why I can't go back to the auto "November 14th" is beyond me.

What am I looking forward to:  Baby shower this Sunday! Oh man, I can't wait! And then I'm throwing a shower for a dear friend on Friday. So much celebrating to come!

Milestones: Hello full term! I've made it to the I-can-safely-birth-at-the-birthing-center milestone and that feels great. 

How is Daddy?   Handing out loads and loads of hugs when I get weepy and exhausted. I'm so thankful he encourages me to slow down. 

And here are some pictures of the nursery! 

I've been dreaming up this room since before we even found out we were having a girl. I did the majority of it over the last couple weeks, while my mom was out of town (half to surprise her, half to see if I could do it on my own- we always decorate together), and love how it all came together. 

This is super budget-friendly nursery- free crib (Thank you Montague's!), childhood bookcase and dresser, gifted bedding, 1 gallon of paint to take the walls from white to warm, stenciled E with a borrowed projector (because vinyls are not very reasonable), Draping wall using fabric from our wedding, black button wall- 1 yard of fabric for coverage, Chandelier using beads from our wedding and a broken lamp shade for the ring base, foam board valance with 1 yard of fabric, and spray painted lamp with a shade covered in old lace. 

Besides the valance and button fabric and some paint, I pretty much just bought the baskets in the bookcase. Bonus: they were on sale! Most of the decor I already had and all the colorful blankets are so decorative stacked up. 

I'm particularly in love with this striped valance. (Tutorial) 

It takes me back to our Europe trip.

These buttons are actually bar stool samples I saved when my parents closed their store 6 years ago. I thought they could be fun in a nursery some day.

 And I was definitely right :)